Pabbaraju Kanti, Wong Sallene, McMillan Thomas, Lee Bonita E, Fox Julie D
Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (Microbiology), Calgary site, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
J Clin Virol. 2007 Nov;40(3):186-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2007.08.004. Epub 2007 Sep 17.
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is prevalent in children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals, but available epidemiological data is limited.
(1) To develop and validate a real-time PCR method for hMPV diagnosis. (2) To determine the percentage of hMPV in respiratory specimens from the community and its association with outbreaks in our geographic area. (3) To provide epidemiological data in terms of age distribution, seasonality and co-infections.
A real-time PCR assay was designed for detection of hMPV lineages A and B. Prospective testing for hMPV over a 22-month period was then undertaken.
The real-time PCR was sensitive and specific for detection of both lineages of hMPV. hMPV was detected in 9.5% (n=8239) of the specimens and 25% of the outbreaks (n=100) tested. The hMPV-positive patients ranged in age from 18 days to 99 years with a median age of 24 months. The number of positive samples peaked during the winter months of December, January and February. A high rate of co-infections was noted in the samples tested.
hMPV is common in the community and is associated with outbreaks. Including hMPV in routine testing improves etiological diagnosis of acute respiratory infections.
人偏肺病毒（hMPV）在儿童、老年人和免疫功能低下者中普遍存在，但现有的流行病学数据有限。
（1）开发并验证一种用于hMPV诊断的实时PCR方法。（2）确定社区呼吸道标本中hMPV的百分比及其与我们所在地理区域疫情的关联。（3）提供关于年龄分布、季节性和合并感染的流行病学数据。
设计了一种实时PCR检测方法用于检测hMPV A和B谱系。然后在22个月的时间内对hMPV进行前瞻性检测。
实时PCR对检测hMPV的两个谱系均敏感且特异。在所检测的标本中，9.5%（n = 8239）检测到hMPV，在检测的疫情中，25%（n = 100）检测到hMPV。hMPV阳性患者年龄范围为18天至99岁，中位年龄为24个月。阳性样本数量在12月、1月和2月的冬季达到峰值。在所检测的样本中发现了较高的合并感染率。
hMPV在社区中常见且与疫情有关。将hMPV纳入常规检测可改善急性呼吸道感染病因诊断。
